I took elements of Next Stop for a playtest at Chestnut Lodge Wargaming Club on Wednesday evening and it was very much a case of 3.6 Roentgoens – not great but not terrible.

One mechanism got rejected flat on first demonstration and the other had various valid questions raised by someone with relevant experience in the field.

So after the usual despair an author can feel after a rejection, some mixed sleep and some reflection during work the following day, I am considering a retooling of the game.

It will still have the arms control element, but it will be a more broader simulation of the Cold War in the early 1980s, intended for a wider audience who might want to do other things than just count nuclear missiles. There is a lot of gameable elements in this, I just need to get them to be an actual enjoyable game. This is easier said then done when you’re of the neurospicy inclination.

So, I am going to need some help. Quite a lot of help. If you have any experience with game design or know someone who does, please drop me a line via the comments form or via Facebook DM. Spammers, scammers and marketing people who claim to have read my book when they actually haven’t.

(If you’re one of the three people on Hoopla who read Generation Ship last month, you have my real thanks)

So, to quote a 1990s song, I get knocked down, but I get up again.

Finally, if this things actually runs, a free ticket will be available for the person who volunteers to be Margaret Thatcher.